With Talat Hussain, AKU board celebrates its high achievers

KARACHI:

To celebrate the achievements of its students, the Aga Khan University Examination Board (AKU-EB) held its annual High Achievers Awards ceremony on Thursday.

The presence of the chief guest, popular anchorman and journalist Syed Talat Hussain, added a touch of glamour to the event which coincided with AKU-EB’s 10th anniversary.

The students who gave an outstanding performance in the examination were given awards. This year, the AKU-EB gave 150 distinctions in different subjects to the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) candidates from 40 cities across the country. The top three SSC and HSSC position holders got cash prizes at the ceremony.

The toppers

Rutaba Nadeem of ETN High School topped the SSC exam, Maruim Zehra and Mehdia Nadeem Rajab of Al-Murtaza School (Girls) stood on second position while Khizra Fatima from the same school secured third position in SSC exam. All students were candidates from Karachi.



This year the HSSC position holders were all from Karachi too. The first position holder was, Maleeka Mehmood of Habib Girls’ Higher Secondary School, while Komal Zehra Zaidi of Aga Khan Higher Secondary School got second position and Muhammad Sameer Kayani of ETN High School was awarded the third position.

Applauding efforts

AKU-EB Director Dr Thomas Christie, calling the board a quality assessment tool, said, “The board’s mission was to prepare students for higher education through their understanding and thinking abilities rather than how accurately they can reproduce textbook materials.”

He praised that the board has continued to accomplish its goals year after year. The board’s HSSC graduates have earned admissions to around 180 universities in Pakistan and almost 50 abroad, he said.

Talat Hussain, who presented the awards to the students, lauded the teaching methodology and examination system of AKU-EB and its affiliated institutions. “Students who are committed towards achieving a goal always got distinctions and achievements,” he said while sharing his own experience. “You are blessed with talent and talent is a heavy burden, now you have to use it for others.” Hussain also congratulated the parents whose children were among the high achievers “Today is your third Eid of the year because all your efforts have now appeared in form of a fruit-laden tree.”

A student of Aga Khan Higher Secondary School, who got an award for scoring 86 per cent in Business Mathematics, shared his secret for achieving the award. Asadullah Akhtar Shirazi told The Express Tribune that attending regular classes and preparing according to the Student Learning Outcomes (SLO) was what won him the distinction. “I am inspired by my father who is a chief finance officer,” he grinned. “I wish to do Masters in Business Administration in Finance from the Institute of Business Administration,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 2^nd, 2013.